MOUNTAIN HOME - Conway's Robert Maxfield hit four three-pointers and scored 15 points as the Wampus Cats broke out to an early lead en route to a 59-45 victory over the Russellville Cyclones in the fifth-place game Saturday afternoon at the Mountain Home Shoot-Out.

Russellville drops to 2-3 on the year and returns to action on Thursday by hosting Pottsville at 8:30 p.m. in the opening round of the Cyclone Classic.

"We knew coming in that this was going to be a very good tournament with a lot of tough competition," said Cyclone head coach Joe Sitkowski. "We played Conway earlier in the year, and they're a team that keeps getting better. They (Wampus Cats) have so much size and quickness to deal with. They're tough to play.

"We've got to make some adjustments against teams like that, but that's why it's good to come here," he added. "We needed to play teams that were athletic and a lot bigger than us, because we're going to face that quite often in conference."

The Cyclones trailed 19-6 after one quarter as Maxfield dominated the early going for Conway. A pair of three-pointers by Marcus Pillow accounted for Russellville's only offense.

"Teams are going to take away our three-point shooting, and they're going to make us penetrate some," said Sitkowski. "We've got to play smart when we penetrate, and we have to rebound on the defensive boards."

Russellville would trail 30-19 at the half and 42-27 at the end of three quarters. The Cyclones outscored the Wampus Cats 18-17 in the final stanza.

Sitkowski was pleased with his team's play in the second half.

"Our kids had a chance to quit out there, but they didn't," he explained. "They kept playing and kept playing hard. Conway had an 11-point lead at halftime and we came out in the second half and tried to press some. Everyone that was out there played hard in the second half and that's something I like about this team. If we don't quit out there, good things will happen if that keeps up."

Pillow led the Cyclones with 16 points, and Mackenzie Embry pitched in 14.

Russellville (1-4) trailed 18-15 at intermission and never could catch up with West Monroe, which is the top-ranked team in Louisiana and the defending Class AAAAA state champion.

"West Monroe was 35-1 last season and had all but one player back from that group," Russellville coach Matt Kordsmeier said. "This was a group that came in averaging 75 points per game, and I thought we played exceptionally well against them. I was proud of how we competed."

Stacey Owens had 18 points and nine rebounds to lead the Lady Cyclones, who suffered a 52-27 loss Friday against Conway. Emily Miles added four points and five rebounds, while Jillian Jacimore had two points, two rebounds and three steals.

Owens scored 20 points in the game against Conway, while Miles was next with five.

"I thought our group showed a lot of heart in this game," Kordsmeier said. "We now have four losses this season, and that includes games against the number two team in the state (Conway), the number three team in the state (El Dorado) and the number one team in Louisiana.

"We can't do anything but get better from playing this kind of competition. I thought we showed improvement in both games against some big, physical and talented teams. Now we just need to get some wins under our belt and gain some confidence before we head into (AAAAA-West) conference play."

Russellville returns to action Tuesday in the Dover Invitational, where the Lady Cyclones will meet Waldron at 8:30 p.m.